


Acceptance Speech

by MissChrisDaae



Series: Convergence [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Awesome Jane Foster, F/M, Nobel Prize, Science, pregnant jane, women in STEM
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-02-28 23:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2751689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissChrisDaae/pseuds/MissChrisDaae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane, Thor and company are attending the Nobel Banquet following Jane's receiving of the Nobel Prize in Physics, and Jane uses a skill Thor's been teaching her for a while now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ceremony

“Let me see it again.”

“Tony, you’re going to get fingerprints all over it!” Pepper caught her boyfriend’s hands and Jane smiled gratefully.

“Thanks, Pepper.” She giggled as Thor leaned over and kissed her cheek softly. “ _Thor!_ ”

“Is it not permitted for me to be proud of you?” he asked, placing his hands over hers on the rim of the gold medal so they were both framing Alfred Nobel’s profile. “You deserve this, _hjarta mitt_ , and so much more.”

“You’re planning on making me a princess,” she reminded him, indicating the star sapphire ring on her left hand. “I think I’m good in that category. I would’ve been fine just staying with you forever.”

“We’re still doing that regardless,” he argued playfully. “Forever.”

“Shut up.” She smacked him lightly on the arm as one of the attendants approached her.

“It’s your turn, Dr. Foster.”

“Thank you.” Jane swallowed deeply, trying not to fuss with the hairstyle Natasha and Pepper had worked so hard to make as she stood up and walked to the podium. She tried not to think about the notes crumpled up in her purse. _Just like he taught you._ She swallowed, trying to breathe as best she could given how many eyes were on her.Her tongue moved in the words Thor had taught her, but she heard English, which she hoped was a good sign that she was actually using the All-Speak properly.

“ _I am deeply honored that the Committee has deemed me worthy of being made a Nobel Laureate, and I shall treasure this for the rest of my life._ ” She wished it were a few days earlier, and she were giving her lecture again. That was her element, that was what she was used to. As if to keep pressuring her further, she felt a kick in her stomach, the baby was getting restless again. “ _Though I am even more honored that I received this recognition, I also firmly believe that it does not belong to me alone. It belongs to my mother, Dr. Elise Nelson, who taught me to pursue everything in my life with passion and dedication. To my father, Dr. Nicholas Foster, who gave me my love of the stars. To Dr. Erik Selvig, who taught me so much, but especially to chase down every path to find answers. To my intern, Darcy Lewis, who reminded that I do need to eat and sleep sometimes._ ” She paused as everyone laughed. “ _And I owe so much thanks to the man who has brought so much into my life._ ” She didn’t even need to say his name, everyone looked at Thor. _“I would not be standing here today if you hadn’t told me that I needed to continue my work, that I was right. You showed so much belief in me, and I can never thank you enough for that_.” Oh, crap, was she crying? “ _And I would like now to take a moment to give special mention to Dr. May-Britt Moser and Malala Yousafzai. I hope that the opportunities and recognition we have been afforded will open further doors for us and for every little girl out there who dreams of exploring the world, through science, math, anything they want. I am… so privileged to have been made a Laureate alongside two such amazing women. Again, to the Committee, thank you.”_ She returned to her seat, taking a long deep breath amidst the applause. Thor took her hand and kissed it, beaming at her thoroughly.

“We still need to work on your diction,” he told her, and Jane rolled her eyes as her mother came over to hug her tightly.

“That was beautiful, darling, your dad would be so proud of you.”

"Thank you, Mum." Jane grinned, hugging her mother back. "Careful, we don't want to squish the baby."

"Of course not." Elise kissed her forehead.

* * *

"What are you thinking?"

"That I never should have let Natasha convince me that I could handle being in wedges whilst pregnant with a half Asgardian baby," Jane informed her fiancé as they moved about the dance floor. Thor had long since claimed her from all other partners. "My feet are killing me—Hey!" Thor had moved his arms lower to support her and lifted her up so that her feet were dangling like a six year old dancing with their father at a wedding.

"Better?"

"I could kick you right now, except then you'd drop me, and that would injure our unborn child," she informed him.

"As if I would ever drop you."

"Okay, fair point." She rolled her eyes. "But do you think anyone will mind if we turn in early?"

"Perhaps another ten minutes, just to be certain," he suggested. "You've been nothing short of breathtaking today, Jane. A queen in nearly every regard." Jane blushed the way she always did when he brought up that sort of topic, and he kissed her sweetly for it. "Believe me, both my parents would be proud to call you their daughter tonight. Regardless of what Father may have said in the past."

"You really believe that?"

"Of course I do. Just as I have always believed in you."

"I love you," she mumbled, leaning into his shoulder so they were really more hugging than waltzing.

" _Og ég elska þig, stjörnu Veiðimaður minn_ ," he whispered back. To her surprise, she understood him. _And I love you, my star chaser._

 


	2. Press Conference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the Nobel Ceremony, Jane gives a press conference for the first time , and somehow ends up giving another monologue.

Waiting a few days after the ceremony to have her first press conference had definitely been a smart move, but Jane found herself wishing she were able to take an aspirin. Was this what it was going to be like forever now?

"Ms. Foster, how have you been handling the pressures of being in a relationship with a superhero without a secret identity?"

"Actually, it's Doctor—"

"Are you worried you won’t be able to handle an Asgardian baby?"

"Can I get a chance to—"

"Have you thought about names—"

Jane’s hands tightened around the water she'd been given, and interrupted the last journalist. “ ** _Enough_**!" Everyone actually stopped talking, staring at her in surprise. "I’m sorry, I’m going to cut you off there, because clearly, you’re all missing the point. Yes, my fiancé and I are expecting our first child, and yes, it’s an absolute gift, but we are _not_ here to talk about that today.”

She could feel her entire body trembling, and the baby was pressing on her bladder, which wasn’t helping things, but she kept going. “I don’t think you understand what a huge deal this is to me. I am only the third woman who has ever won the Nobel Prize in Physics, and I am the youngest to have done so. This is a moment that I have been dreaming about all my life, and I was sure it was only ever going to be exactly that. A dream. Because this world still isn’t ready to understand that women have as much of a place in science as men do. I have been literally working with the technology of the gods, exploring science that is thousands of years beyond human research, opening up unheard of possibilities. But all you want to know about is the fetus currently gestating in my uterus.”

The people who were trying to pass themselves off as journalists but were clearly from the tabloids were starting to look uncomfortable, but that only made Jane want to go further. She glanced over at Thor, who nodded at her, pride sparkling in those perfect blue eyes she loved so much. “I am not an incubator, okay? As I’m sure reality TV has demonstrated, anyone can perform the physical act of conceiving a child.” There were a few awkward chuckles at that, which she took as a cue to keep going.

"It took me three degrees, years of research and building my own equipment, driving into storms to get data readings, running from giant killer metal men, and having a magical stone that could have killed me leeching off my body for days on end before stopping a crazy elf from destroying the universe to get as far as I did. Yes, I had help, but who doesn’t? What matters isn’t really how I got to this moment, it’s the fact that, despite all the crap in my life, despite everything that was stacked against me, I kept going."

She took a deep breath, and looked directly at the biggest camera, hoping her mother and Erik were watching. “I said this at the Nobel Banquet, but it bears repeating. My mother taught me when I was little that anything can be accomplished with enough passion. And I have believed that every day of my life, and it’s gotten me here today, it’s gotten me… everything I ever could have wanted. And that’s what I want to pass on to every child, especially my own children. If I have a daughter who wants to follow me into science, I want it to be in a world where she doesn’t have to face the same barriers I did. I hope her challenges come from the difficulty of the work she wants to do, not because of people thinking her gender is holding her back.”

Jane reaching into her bag and drew out the medal, holding it so that everyone could see it. “This is an honor I will hold dearly for the rest of my life, and I want to thank the committee for deeming me worthy of being made a laureate. And I hope that my recognition today will be able to open doors for other women who love science to realize they can follow this path too. We have a voice, and this is the sign that when we use it, we can do absolutely amazing things. Now, who has a question _not_ pertaining to my personal life?”

Someone at the back raised their hand and she pointed to them. "Yes?"

"Dr. Foster, I'm a little confused. You say you were working with the technology of the gods, but don't Asgardians use magic?"

Jane laughed a little. " _Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic._ Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law. I've pretty much been living by that rule ever since I hit the Prince of Asgard with my van."

"Did it hurt, Thor?" someone else shouted.

"Not as much as when she struck me two years later," Thor answered, giving a rueful little chuckle as he wrapped an arm around Jane.

"You deserved it," she shot back, grinning sheepishly and momentarily forgetting they were still in public. "You don't call a girl, tell her you love her, and then go  _poof_ for a year."

"Never again, I promise. Deal?"

"Deal." Jane shook her head, refocusing her attention. "Um... anyway, I got some firsthand experience last year. For medical purposes, Asgardians use a device called a Soul Forge, but we'd call it a quantum field generator. It highlights the patient's physiology, making any form of internal infection more apparent, and is capable of transferring molecular energy from one place to another. I've been working on a prototype in my spare time, though the Einstein-Rosen Bridge is still my first priority."

"Does that have an Asgardian equivalent?"

"The Bifrost," Jane told them. "And it's absolutely amazing."

**Author's Note:**

> Please note: I do not, in any way, mean to discredit or belittle the gentlemen who were this year's real world laureates.


End file.
